Ye gods! since this worn frame refection knew,
What scenes have I survey'd of dreadful view!
But, nymphs, recede! sage chastity denies
To raise the blush, or pain the modest eyes.'

The nymphs withdrawn, at once into the tide
Active he bounds; the flashing waves divide :
O’er all his limbs his hands the wave diffuse,
And from his locks compress the weedy ooze;
The balmy oil, a fragrant shower, he sheds:
Then, dress'd, in pomp magnificently treads.
The warrior goddess gives his frame to shine
With majesty enlarged, and air divine:
Back from his brows a length of hair unfurls,
His hyacinthine locks descend in wavy curls.
As by some artist to whom Vulcan gives
His skill divine, a breathing statue lives;
By Pallas taught, he frames the wondrous mould,
And o’er the silver pours the fusile gold:
So Pallas his heroic frame improves
With heavenly bloom, and like a god he moves,
A fragrance breathes around : majestic grace
Attend his steps: the’ astonish'd virgins gaze.
Soft he reclines along the murmuring seas,
Inhaling freshness from the fanning breeze.
The wondering nymph his glorious port sur-

vey'd, And to her damsels, with amazement, said

· Not without care divine the stranger treads This land of joy : his steps some godhead leads : Would Jove destroy him, sure he had been

driven Far from this realm, the favourite isle of Heaven, Late a sad spectacle of woe he trod The desert sands, and now he looks a god,

O Heaven! in my connubial hour decree
This man my spouse, or such a spouse as he!
But haste, the viands and the bowl provide’-
The maids the viands and the bowl supplied :
Eager he fed, for keen his hunger raged,
And with the generous vintage thirst assuaged.

Now on return her care Nausicaa bends, The robes resumes, the glittering car ascends, Far blooming o’er the field: and as she press'd The splendid seat, the listening chief address’d

Stranger, arise! the sun rolls down the day, Lo, to the palace I direct the way; Where in high state the nobles of the land Attend

my royal sire, a radiant band. But hear, though wisdom in thy soul presides, Speaks from thy tongue, and every action guides; Advance at distance, while I pass the plain Where o’er the furrows waves the golden grain ; Alone I reascend—With airy mounds A strength of wall the guarded city bounds: The jutting land two ample bays divides; Full through the narrow mouths descend the tides: The spacious basons arching rocks enclose, A sure defence from every storm that blows. Close to the bay great Neptune's fane adjoins; And near, a forum flank'd with marble shines, Where the bold youth, the numerous fleets to store, Shape the broad sail, or smooth the taper oar: For not the bow they bend, nor boast the skill To give the feather'd arrow wings to kill; But the tall mast above the vessel rear, Or teach the fluttering sail to float in air. They rush into the deep with eager joy,

[Aly; Climb the steep surge, and through the tempest

A proud, unpolish'd race—To me belongs
The care to shun the blast of slanderous tongues;
Lest malice, prone the virtuous to defame,
Thus with vile censure taint my spotless name-
“ What stranger this, whom thus Nausicaa

leads ?
Heavens! with what graceful majesty he treads !
Perhaps a native of some distant shore,
The future consort of her bridal hour;
Or, rather, some descendant of the skies,
Won by her prayer, the' aerial bridegroom flies.
Heaven on that hour its choicest influence shed,
That gave a foreign spouse to crown her bed!
All, all the godlike worthies that adorn
This realm, she flies; Phæacia is her scorn.”

! And just the blame; for female innocence Not only flies the guilt, but shuns the offence: The' unguarded virgin, as unchaste, I blame; And the least freedom with the sex is shame, Till our consenting sires a spouse provide, And public nuptials justify the bride. [plain?

< But wouldst thou soon review thy native Attend, and speedy thou shalt pass the main : Nigh where a grove, with verdant poplars crown'd, To Pallas sacred, shades the holy ground, We bend our way: a bubbling fount distils Ą lucid lake, and thence descends in rills; Around the grove a mead with lively green Falls by degrees, and forms a beauteous scene; Here a rich juice the royal vineyard pours; And there the garden yields a waste of flowers. Hence lies the town, as far as to the ear Floats a strong shout along the waves of air. There wait embower'd, while I ascend alone To great Alcinoüs on his royal throne.

Arrived, advance impatient of delay,
And to the lofty palace bend thy way:
The lofty palace overlooks the town,
From every dome by pomp superior known;
A child may point the way.

With earnest gait
Seek thou the queen along the rooms of state;
Her royal hand a wondrous work designs;
Around a circle of bright damsels shines,
Part twist the threads, and part the wool dispose,
While with the purple orb the spindle glows.
High on a throne, amid the Scherian powers,
My royal father shares the genial hours;
But to the queen thy mournful tale disclose,
With the prevailing eloquence of woes:
So shalt thou 'view with joy thy natal shore,
Though mountains rise between, and oceans roar.'

She added not, but waving as she wheeld The silver scourge, it glitter'd o'er the field; With skill the virgin guides the’embroider'd rein, Slow rolls the car before the' attending train. Now whirling down the heavens, the golden day Shot through the western clouds a dewy ray; The grove they reach, where from the sacred shade To Pallas thus the pensive hero pray'd- [wield

Daughter of Jove! whose arms in thunder The'avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield; Forsook by thee, in vain I sought thy aid When booming billows closed above my head: Attend, unconquer'd maid; accord my vows, Bid the great hear, and pitying heal my

woes.' This heard Minerva, but forbore to fly (By Neptune awed) apparent from the sky: Stern god! who raged with vengeance unre

strain’d, Till great Ulysses hail'd his native land,

BOOK VIL.

The argument.

THE COURT OF ALCINOUS.

The princess Nausicaa returns to the city, and Ulysses soon

after follows thither. He is met by Pallas in the form of a young virgin, who guides him to the palace, and directs him in what manner to address the queen Arete. She then involves him in a mist, which causes him to pass invisible. The palace and gardens of Alcinoüs described. Ulysses falling at the feet the queen, the mist disperses, the Phæacians admire, and receive him with respect. The queen inquiring by what means he had the garments he then wore, he relates to her and Alcinoüs his departure from Calypso, and his arrival on their dominions.

The same day continues, and the book ends with the night.

The patient heavenly man thus suppliant pray’d; While the slow mules draw on the’imperial maid: Through the proud street she moves, the public

gaze: The turning wheel before the palace stays. With ready love her brothers gathering round, Received the vestures, and the mules unbound. She seeks the bridal bower: a matron there The rising fire supplies with busy care, Whose charms in youth her father's heart inflamed, Now worn with age, Eurymedusa named: The captive dame Phæacian rovers bore, Snatch'd from Epirus, her sweet native shore (A grateful prize), and in her bloom bestow'd On good Alcinoüs, honour'd as a god :